Unemployment rates in the region and state are extremely low (Table 2). The respective rates for Marathon, Portage, and Wood counties are 2.5, 2.6, and 3.0 percent. These marks are at or near record lows. Central Wisconsin's labor force weighted unemployment rate is just 2.7 percent. This matches the 2.7 rate for the state as a whole. Thus, all of the local and state rates are significantly lower than the 4.4 percent U.S. unemployment mark.

     Employment growth was uneven throughout the three county region (Table 3). Portage experienced a reported decline of 2.6 percent in its payrolls, whereas Marathon and Wood moved forward with gains of 0.4 and 1.3 percent respectively. With an ever tightening labor market employment growth is becoming increasingly more difficult to achieve. This is also true for Wisconsin and the nation. Here employment increased by 1.4 and 1.5 percent respectively.

     Industrial sector payrolls expanded, albeit at a modest pace in Central Wisconsin.  For the reason alluded to above, it will be very difficult to generate huge employment gains in the future. Manufacturing and services grew by 0.6 and 1.5 percent (Table 4). Trade and construction payrolls also expanded, growing by 1.8 and 3.1 percent Government payrolls are estimated to have fallen by 1.7 percent. Overall, the industrial sector categories grew by 1.0 percent or about 1,400 jobs since last year.

     Sales tax data for Portage county shows a gain of 3.5 percent took place
(Table 5). This indicator is an excellent barometer of the overall level of economic activity in an area. Marathon also experienced a nice gain in retail activity. Sales tax collections in Marathon county grew by 3.8 percent in the year over comparison. Thus, the economies in these counties continue to develop and expand.

     Relating to the Marshfield version of the report, graphs 5A and 5B depict the movements in manufacturing, services, trade, construction, and government employment over the past few years.  The reader will quickly gain an appreciation for the relative importance of the sectors and how they have taken on different growth paths.  Moreover, these figures dramatically portray the changing nature of our regional economy and how our people earn their livelihoods. 

     Business executives in the region believe that recent economic changes have been decidedly negative in nature (Table 6). Clearly, the financial problems in Asia and other developing areas of the world have area executives concerned. More pessimism than what has even been recorded by the CWERB was expressed by this group concerning the future. This group expects economic conditions at the national, local, and industry levels to deteriorate over the next quarter and into next year.